The announcement, which came March 30, had been a work in progress for the last few years and was preceded by fast-food rivals such as Wendy’s Co. and upstarts like Smashburger Master LLC and Habit Restaurants Inc., which serve bigger burgers made with fresh beef and gourmet toppings.

According to the Wall Street Journal, this change – although it only involves its Quarter Pounders for now – is one of the biggest moves the company has made to revive its struggling business. But some experts don’t believe it will do the trick.

“Ultimately, I don’t think it’s going to change the quality dramatically, and there could be higher costs involved because it’s fresh,” Darren Tristano, president of restaurant consulting firm Technomic Inc., told WSJ. He said it might actually add complexity to a company that has been trying to simplify its menu options.

Acknowledging the franchise’s success isn’t riding on the beef switch, McDonald’s USA President Chris Kempczinski said in an interview: “We will continue to make moves on the burger line. Whether it’s this move exactly, I’m not sure, but you should expect we’ll continue to elevate and meet customer expectations about what we can do with our burgers.”

The WSJ pointed out McDonald’s has made previous attempts to make a better burger over the years. However, those gestures didn’t exactly sit well with their cost-conscious customers. As recently as two years ago, McDonald’s introduced a sirloin burger topped with sautéed mushrooms and peppercorn sauce for $5, but it didn’t last long, the article states.

“Over the past two years, we’ve made a series of bold, tangible changes for our customers,” said McDonald’s president and chief executive officer Steve Easterbrook in the announcement. “Serving All-Day Breakfast, moving to cage-free eggs and testing delivery are all proof of our commitment to build a better McDonald’s.

And we are committed to transforming more aspects of our business, including offering a more modern and enjoyable dining experience, adding new levels of convenience and technology, and making more positive changes to the food we serve.”

After the announcement, Wendy’s challenged McDonald’s on Twitter by asking, “So you’ll still use frozen beef in most of your burgers in all of your restaurants? Asking for a friend.” The “fresh, never frozen” image has been a huge selling point for Wendy’s.  

—Compiled from The Wall Street Journal, McDonald’s press release and Huffington Post